January 15, 2024
Junfu Han/USA TODAY Sports
If the Eagles advance to the divisional round of the playoffs, they will face Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions.
The Philadelphia Eagles have lost five of six games. They got waxed in each of their last two games by a pair of putrid teams in the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants. They look nothing like Super Bowl contenders, but were at least able to land the 5 seed in the NFC playoffs because of their 10-1 start to the season.
Now that we have gotten that disclaimer out of the way, let's look at their path to the Super Bowl, which became clearer after learning the results of the two NFC wildcard games.
• Wildcard round opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8:15 p.m., Monday Night Football, January 14.
We already knew this, of course. You can find our analysis of this matchup here and here.
I don't need to tell you that the Eagles' season is over whenever they lose, right? OK, well continuing on...
• Divisional round opponent: Detroit Lions, 3:00 p.m., Sunday, January 21.
How did the Eagles wind up with the Lions as their divisional round opponent (if they get that far)? Well, they had four potential opponents in the divisional round, that were going to be based on the results of the two NFC wildcard round games played on Sunday between the Cowboys/Packers and Lions/Rams. They were the 49ers, Cowboys, Lions, and Rams. They could not play the Packers. Here were the scenarios in which they would play each potential opponent, in order of highest to lowest likelihood.
• (2) Cowboys and (3) Lions win: Eagles play on the road against the 49ers.
• (2) Cowboys and (6) Rams win: Eagles play on the road against the Cowboys.
• (7) Packers and (3) Lions win: Eagles play on the road against the Lions.
• (7) Packers and (6) Rams win: Eagles play at home the Rams.
As you probably know, the NFL does not employ a true bracket playoff system like the NCAA basketball tourney. The 1 seed 49ers, who earned a bye during the wildcard round, get to play the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round. When the Packers upset the Cowboys on Sunday, they became the first 7 seed to win an NFL playoff game. As the lowest remaining seed, they will face the 49ers next week.
That was an outstanding result for the Eagles, who will now avoid facing the 49ers in the divisional round (as explained above) as well as the Cowboys (they lost and their season is over in devastating fashion once again, duh).
Instead they'll face the Lions, who beat the Rams on Sunday.
We'll have much more on the Lions if the Eagles beat the Bucs on Monday night, but the CliffsNotes are they they have an explosive and creative offense, but a shaky pass defense.
And yes, that game is already scheduled for 3:00 p.m. next Sunday.
• NFC Championship Game: San Francisco 49ers or Green Bay Packers, Sunday, 3:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m., January 28.
If the Eagles somehow advance past the Lions, they will play the winner of the 49ers-Packers divisional round game. If it's the Niners, that game will be in San Francisco. If it's the Packers, it will take place in Philly.
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